I loved the manager's honesty when I asked about gluten-free food. He said, "Are you kidding? This place is a bakery. Our air probably isn't even gluten-free." Panera Bread seems pretty clueless about where their market is going and what to do about it.
I love their apple salad, but do get sick on them. Amazed that after going wheat-free, I can drink coffee all day without being tempted by the pastries.

Salad chop chicken avocado salad dressing is not gf became very sick after eating it! Also it is not dairy free! They are not familiar with gf or how to work with you. The guy didn't know what gluten free was and thought it was on his menu!

Hit or miss. Last time one of the staff made me feel as if it was my fault that I had croutons in my salad. I don't think she realized I was the customer her sent back my food but when she found out, she told me (with a bit of attitude) to make sure I speak to manager next time. I had already spoken to the cashier and clarified. I ended up getting pretty sick.

They are "working on a GF menu" per Kenny at the counter. Since I'm not celiac, I decided to stay and just stick with a salad (with some ingredient deletions). At first things were fine, Kenny even got a sheet out of a very large binder to show me which salads are gluten-free. But then he asked "are you allergic?" and when I said "no" and before I had a chance to say "I'm gluten intolerant" he said "OH, you're one of THOSE people." Needless to say, we proceeded to have a learning moment (as I like to call them) and I can only hope that Kenny has in fact learned to keep such comments inside his head from now on. The salad tastes fine but I have unfortunately lost my appetite after that customer service fail.

While Panera may seem like an odd place to eat for a celiac I have recently discovered that they have a "secret menu" online where most of those options are gf! You have to find it online as they don't advertise it in store. I have gotten the Power Steak Lettuce Wraps (fresh steak, pesto lettuce, tomatoes, onions) and loved it everytime. Just ask the server to change their gloves before making your food to avoid cross contamination. Panera is a great place to hang out with friends, grab a bite to eat, or study and now us gf folks can enjoy it too.

Their selection isn't huge, however, the staff behind the counter were knowledgeable and they had a couple menu options that were gluten free (3 of their balance bowls and a couple of their soups). Not bad for a bakery.

They have an off menu breakfast bowl. It has egg steak avocado and tomato. Quite good but the steak is served cold which is odd since the egg is hot... Also have salads and a list of everything that has wheat in it...

We went to the one on S. Campbell. We just stopped in for coffees to go. I started having my symptoms of being glutened about 15-20 minutes after we left. I wouldn't recommend even going in for any gluten sensitive person.

When we went a couple of yrs ago, I got sick. The employees acted as if they didn't have any concern for my needs on a GF diet. I can't say if my food ended up being contaminated by accident, on purpose, by failure to clean surfaces, change gloves, etc, but I know I was sick before I even finished my food or left the restaurant.
My Dr did say it's possible from all the Flour in the air, my food could've been contaminated or it was from simply inhaling the flour particles in the air too.
Again, not sure which, but not going back to test it out.
Didn't seem to want to be bothered w my concerns over preparation, my needs, etc. Called Mgr, not much concern there either. This was the E Sunshine location just as an FYI. Things could be better now, but not worth the aftermath to me to try it again!
Oh, also ordered some food to go about 1.5 yrs ago...had another reaction & I never stepped foot in the place, hubby went in instead. So, I did give it 2 tries before now refusing to go there again!

It sounds odd for me to suggest a restaurant full of bread, but they actually have several nice salads. Instead of bread for the side, you can get an apple or chips. I eat their Fuji Apple Salad frequently, and I've never had any issues. They give you a notebook with the nutrition info.

Although they make bread here they have a large variety of items which are gluten free. They just can't guarantee that there is no slight cross contamination but for a slight change its worth it! I love panera!